This message is from Vlad, the site catalog information admin. Here he discusses this site's definition of "anime" and "AMV". Constructive feedback is greatly appreciated.

Phade.

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As this topic has been debated on several threads and asked in e-mails, and as I'm the one who confirms most of the anime titles added to the list and from the discussions all us mod & admins have had, I would like to clarify a few things in regards to what is considered valid anime source for the catalog and an AMV.

Why all the rules and clarifications? Music vides has so evolved to the point that there is such a wide variety that it is becoming harder to sometimes classify them. As this site is "AnimeMusicVideos.org", the scope of the site is to catalog and host anime music videos (AMVs). So the problem comes down to what exactly constitutes a video to be an AMV? We have discussed this a lot and to be able to apply it to the catalog, it comes down to what source(s) is used in the video.

Thus, to be an AMV the video must have at least one valid "anime" source. How much does it have to have? This is really a tough question, as a guide to be on the safe side, I have mentioned in a thread about 51%, but there is not exact strict rule that says it has to have that much. Suffice to say the video should be themed around anime with one valid source as this does gives leeway for creativity. So long as it’s not abused, then we are quite flexible. A 5-second clip of anime into a live action video, or even a video that focusing on non-anime, like the Simpsons for example, does not make it an AMV just because it has one valid anime source since the video is not focusing on anime. In other words, adding a few frames or seconds to a video just to host it here is not what this site is about.

So, what criteria is used to confirm a title if it’s Anime? I’ve summarized what has been agreed on below. Please keep in mind that everyone’s definition might vary, but this is what we have chosen to use for the site and thus make up the site rules.

Animated commercial media (TV, OVAs & Movies)

In order for a video source to be confirmed as anime at this site, the following must hold true:
• Titles must be under the control of a Japanese company and be animated using traditional cell painting, CGI, or a combination of the two
• Titles must have premiered in Japan prior to being shown elsewhere
Examples: Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam, The Last Exile
• Titles that are derivatives of a Japanese anime (that meet the above criteria) but may have been reworked for the North American Market. These must use the original animation and/or characters and story.
Examples: Robotech, Battle of the Planets

All other animated Titles or non-animated Japanese titles shall be considered non-anime (any live action feature regardless of origin, nimated features from any other country, etc). Animated features that are produced outside of Japan even though the a Japanese company may be doing the animation (like Cyber-Six that is produced by Canada & France, but animated in Japan) will not be considered anime unless it meets the above listed criteria.
Examples: Spiderman, Thunderbirds, Simpsons, etc

Video Games

In order for a video game title to be accepted as anime, it must meet the following criteria:
• Games must be made in Japan under the control of a Japanese company.
• Games must be in the style and spirit of anime (not based on North American or other country icons).
• The game may premiere outside of Japan so long as the above criteria is met.
Examples: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Final Fantasy 7, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Resident Evil

Games are a very fuzzy and grey area as they are ever evolving, so for now the above criteria is what we’ll use and re-evaluate it as required.

There have been several other media types mentioned by others. In general the above is what is considered to be confirmed as anime, although other sources in the spirit of anime may be used such as original art or printed material (manga), in general these sources are not really anime themselves for the most part. Some of these grey areas we are still debating and will clarify in the near future. We are also looking at updating the rules on the video upload and catalog entry pages to reflect all the above and provide some examples to clarify it to everyone.

There is always going to be a grey area where a judgment will have to be made. We try our best to accommodate creativity and be as flexible as we can. But because we allow hosting of videos on this site, we have to be careful what is accepted so that our limited space is not used for all kinds of videos outside the scope of this site.

I hope this helps to clear things up and we are always open to comments and constructive feedback in regards to this topic.

n order for a video source to be confirmed as anime at this site, the following must hold true:• Titles must be under the control of a Japanese company

Exclusive control or joint control?

• Titles must have premiered in Japan prior to being shown elsewhereExamples: Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam, The Last Exile

I assume "premiered" covers a wide range of methods, ranging from private screenings to film festivals to theatrical presentations. Is this correct?

• Titles that are derivatives of a Japanese anime (that meet the above criteria) but may have been reworked for the North American Market. These must use the original animation and/or characters and story.Examples: Robotech, Battle of the Planets

How about derivatives of foreign works, like the upcoming Demashitta! Powerpuff Girls Z?

• Games must be in the style and spirit of anime (not based on North American or other country icons).

"Icons"? Could you elaborate on that? A lot of games use material that could reasonably be construed as being from foreign influences. Are you referring to art style?

• The game may premier outside of Japan so long as the above criteria is met.Examples: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Final Fantasy 7, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Resident Evil

People endlessly debate the anime section, should we open up the can of worms that is the MUSIC section? Because 'music' sure is broad at the moment, ranging from traditional 'music' of many artists and genres (arguing teh musicality of some said artists/genres is always a treat on the General Music forum), to trailer audio (not something most people would consider music, though music usually is a PART of a trailer), to fan-made or fan-dubbed trailers (pushing the borderline of fandubs/parody fandubs which I'm pretty sure are a no-no on the site), and even to videos with no audio at all (I am guilty of this one....but La Monte Young's works ARE considered to be musical compositions, despite the occasional lack of, well, instrumentation, performers, etc.).

Most of this seems fair, given the rules are always applied evenly and nothing is granfathered in. While there is something to be said for precedence, it would be best (for fairness' sake) if precedence were made infrequently and more often than not in the "no" direction than the "yes" one.

As mentioned, we are quite flexible and nothing is written in granite. We try to do our best and give the benefit of the doubt in really grey areas.

Here’s a few responses to the above comments:

- Self made animations is a grey area and is still something to be debated further. Problem comes into that this could encompass almost anything and may not even be related to anime in most respects... For now they are on a case to case basis.

- I think so as long as it's in the content and spirit of anime, a joint venture is acceptable provided the Japanese company has some creative control over it (i.e. not just commissioned to do the work only). I think that would be reasonably fair.

- We are quite loose on Premier thing, All the examples given are fine.

- Derivatives are a grey area, and for the most past so as long as they are directly based on an anime or related to them (Robotech and it's derivatives)... Again, this is something we are going to look at evaluation on a case by case basis if need be.

- In Gamming, Icons refer to things like for example, North American Icons such as Spiderman, Mickey Mouse, Simpsons, etc.. Basically the idea is just because a video game is made by the Japanese using only the Simpsons, that does not make it anime. Again, for very grey area stuff, it will be evaluated on a case by case basis

- Noted on the FF reference

- NO we don't want to open up a can of worms with music right now... Again is it's something totally radical, it will have to be on a case by case basis for now...

I must again stress, a lot of this is very debatable and so we have tried to make the rules as flexible as possible but reasonable enough that it makes it practical for us to reasonably confirm what is considered anime.

BasharOfTheAges wrote:Most of this seems fair, given the rules are always applied evenly and nothing is granfathered in. While there is something to be said for precedence, it would be best (for fairness' sake) if precedence were made infrequently and more often than not in the "no" direction than the "yes" one.

We try our best... We are doing this all on our free time and best judgement

We try our best in accepting new anime titles as soon as we can. Depending on the amount of new entries and how much time we have, it sometimes it may take a few days or so to confirm a title. If you're awaiting an approval of a title for a catalog entry to upload a video, please be patient and wait a few days or before asking